There’s a lot here so let’s walk through it. First, we’ve known for a while that Manafort has been under investigation, so the wiretap doesn’t come as a complete surprise. CNN hints that the results of the wiretap “sparked concerns” about collusion with Russia but in the very next sentence adds “the evidence is not conclusive.” However, the fact that the wiretap came from a FISA court seems to prove that investigators believed Manafort was acting on behalf of a foreign power.

Second, CNN doesn’t know whether President Trump was caught up in any of the wiretapping efforts, the story only says it’s possible. Trump famously alleged on Twitter back in March that President Obama had wiretapped him at Trump Tower. It doesn’t appear Trump was the target, but CNN does note that Manafort has a residence in Trump Tower. It’s not confirmed that Manafort’s phone there was wiretapped but it may have been.

Third, even if Trump wasn’t personally wire-tapped, it seems rather unusual for the administration of one party to wire-tap the campaign chairman of the other party weeks before an election. CNN reports that the FBI was not listening in on Manafort in June when he was part of the meeting between Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer. (Apparently, Manafort’s notes on the meeting didn’t contain anything incriminating.) Manafort eventually resigned his position with the campaign on August 19th. Did the wire-tapping begin prior to that?

So yeah, we have the Democrats wiretapping Republican campaign manager's phones but somehow this story is still not going to focus on that.